Overview of new features

API Changes

A few changes to the Apache API were made for 1.1. It is possible
that some third-party modules will no longer work with 1.1, though
we have made every effort to provide backwards-compatibility. If you
encounter a module that does not work with 1.1, please let us know.

New Features with Apache 1.1

New features with this release, as extensions of the Apache
functionality (see also more detailed CHANGES file in
the source directory.) Because the core code has changed so
significantly, there are certain liberties that earlier versions of
Apache (and the NCSA daemon) took that recent Apache versions are
pickier about - please check the compatibility notes if you have any
problems.

In addition to a number of bug fixes and internal performance
enhancements, Apache
1.1 has the following specific new user features:

Support for Keep-Alive Persistent
Connections Apache now has (optional) support for persistent
connections, as defined by the HTTP/1.1 draft. This protocol,
supported by a number of current HTTP servers and browsers (including
Netscape Navigator 2.0) has been shown to increase speed of document
transfer by up to 50% in certain cases.

New non-IP Intensive VirtualHost
Support
Apache's support for virtual hosts has been enhanced to be able to
use information sent by some new Web browsers to determine the server
being accessed, without requiring an additional IP address for each
host.

Status
Module
Apache now contains a module that gives the web-master accurate,
up-to-date information about the server's status and its resource
consumption. It also gives the current state of each server process
including the current URL being processed. For an example, check out
the status of the
www.apache.org server.

Experimental Caching Proxy Server
Apache can now act as
an HTTP proxy server, allowing clients behind firewalls to use the
server to access the outside world. In addition, it can cache
documents it proxies, speeding up access to frequently requested
documents.

Filetype-based Script "Actions"
You can now run CGI scripts whenever a file of a certain type is
requested. This makes it much easier to execute scripts that process
files. In addition, you can use the new Script directive to enable scripts
for files called with HTTP methods Apache does not natively support.

New "Handler" Directives
The new AddHandler and SetHandler directive
allows "handlers" to be defined for filename extensions or
directories. These handlers, which can either be built into Apache or
added with the Action directive, extend
Apache's range of usability, and almost entirely remove the "magic"
media types.

CERN Metafile Support
Now emulates the CERN httpd's support for metafiles containing additional
HTTP headers to be supplied with a document.

Improved Imagemap Support
The internal imagemap handling code has been rewritten and
reorganized, adding new handling of default, base and relative URLs,
and support for creating non-graphical menus for use with clients that
do not support imagemaps.

Improved UserDir Directive
Now supports the ability to point user's files (as specified by URLs
beginning with the "~" character) at directories other
than those specified by the Unix password file.

Minimal DNS Now Runtime Option
New HostnameLookups
server configuration directive can be used to turn On or
Off DNS lookups. This supersedes the -DMINIMAL_DNS
compile-time configuration option. This option can be set per-directory.

IdentityCheck Now Per-Directory Option
The IdentityCheck directive, which controls the use of
ident to check the remote user name, can now be set per directory. The
ident support is also RFC 1413-compliant.

Redirect Now Usable in .htaccess Files
The Redirect
directive can now be used in .htaccess files when the
FileInfo directive has been set on. This allows users to
redirect parts of their directories without requiring CGI scripts

ErrorDocument Now Usable in .htaccess Files
The ErrorDocument
directive can now be used in .htaccess files when the
FileInfo directive has been set on. This allows users to
have different error messages for different sections of a site.

ForceType Directive
This new directive, in <Directory> sections or
.htaccess files, allows you to override the filename extensions and
force a single content type. (e.g. ForceType
application/octet-stream)

File Owner Available to Included CGI Scripts
Server-side includes that call CGI scripts will now set a
USER_NAME environment variable that contains the owner of
the file which included it.

Improved Icons
Thanks to Kevin
Hughes, Apache's nifty color GIF icons for directory listings have
been updated. In addition, the Powered by Apache
(apache_pb.gif) logo has been included.

New Authentication Modules

Note: These modules are not
compiled into the server by default, as they require special support
on the host system. They must be enabled specifically in the
Configuration file.

Anonymous HTTP Logins
New options allow you to allow, using Basic HTTP Authentication,
anonymous logins, like those of FTP. This allows you to collect email
addresses of people accessing your site.

Support for Digest
Authentication
Apache now supports digest authentication using RSA MD5
encryption. When used with a supporting web browser, this provides a
more secure alternative to Basic authentication.